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Artificial thymus

The thymus gland has joined the list of artificially engineered organs. Reprogrammed embryonic cells were mixed with fetal thymus cells and grafted on to the kidneys of adult mice, where they developed into thymus glands. Growing the organ inside an animal rather than a dish meant it had a constant supply of blood and nutrients (Nature Cell Biology, doi.org/vc4).

Triton mapped anew

Footage captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft 25 years ago has helped produce a remastered map of Triton, Neptune’s largest moon. Modern processing techniques have revealed new surface features that may be similar to ones on Pluto, which will be visited by NASA’s New Horizon’s probe next year.

Smog hazard defined

China’s smog is notoriously bad, but what is its precise effect on health? Jill Baumgartner of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and colleagues studied 280 women in rural China, where burning wood or coal in stoves produces black carbon, a component of soot. The higher their level of exposure to black carbon, the greater the women’s risk of high blood pressure. This risk tripled when they also lived near a major motorway (PNAS, doi.org/vc6).

No more e-cigs indoors?

Vaping with electronic cigarettes should be banned indoors in public spaces and the workplace, a World Health Organization report has recommended. The idea is to protect non-vapers from exposure to nicotine, toxicants and other particles that the devices produce.

Curiosity’s drill wobble

Last week, NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity tried to drill into a rock called Bonanza King, its fourth effort to dig into the planet’s surface. But the rock wobbled beneath the drill, so the rover team had to move on.